Radio Free Asia
Lao Dam Collapse Due to Use of Soil: Water Experts
Poor construction methods, with soil used in place of concrete, caused a fatal hydropower dam collapse last year in Laos, a panel of water experts has concluded, prompting a rejection of its findings by the South Korean firm that built the project.The disaster occurred on ...
Max Avary
Laos Silent About Villager's Jail Death as Exile Rights Groups Demand Answers
Exile Lao human rights groups on Friday pressed the Vientiane government to investigate the death in custody last month of Lao villager who had been detained since 2011 over a land protest in the country’s Salavan province.The government has been silent so far on the ...
Laos ‘Disciplines’ Hundreds of Corrupt Officials in Recent Months, Jails Few
The Lao government has disciplined more than 200 officials involved in taking bribes or embezzlement in recent months as part of a bid to crackdown on rampant corruption in the Southeast Asian nation, but few have been held criminally accountable for their actions.Earlier this week, ...
RFA’s Lao Service
Lao Government Vows to Enforce Ban on Concessions for New Banana Plantations
The government of Laos has vowed to enforce a ban on the granting of land for new banana plantations and punish local officials who violate it, amid a controversy over the illegal overuse of pesticides that residents say are causing pollution and destroying their livelihoods.Concerns ...
Sidney Khotpanya
Lao Villagers Refuse to Yield Land for SEZ, Now Contend With Access Road
At least 140 families from eight villages in the Khong district of southwestern Laos’ Champasak province are refusing to sell their land or relocate to make way for a special economic zone planned for their area.Despite this, developers have begun the hasty construction of an ...
RFA’s Lao Service
Still no Source of Income for Villagers Displaced by Lao Dam Project
Villagers in Laos displaced by the Don Sahong Dam under construction near the border with Cambodia are still going without jobs and income three years into the project despite promises from the government to help them.Construction on the Mekong river dam, backed by a Malaysian ...
Sidney Khotpanya
Thailand to Sign Pact with China, Laos on Bridge for High-Speed Railway
Thailand, China and Laos will sign a memorandum of cooperation on a new bridge for a railway across the Mekong River during Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha’s Beijing visit this week, a Thai foreign ministry official said Tuesday.The bridge would link Thailand’s northeastern Nong Khai province ...
BenarNews
Three Chinese Arrested in Laos for Passing Counterfeit Currency
Police in Laos this week arrested three Chinese nationals for trying to buy holiday clothing with counterfeit bills that a shopkeeper had noticed were marked by smeared ink, causing her to contact authorities, sources in Laos said.The suspects, two men and a woman, had recently ...
RFA’s Lao Service
Laos Releases, Deports US Citizens Accused of Unauthorized Missionary Work
UPDATED at 3.45 P.M. EDT on 2019-04-18Three U.S. citizens held in Laos since last week on suspicion of disseminating bibles and Christian material without government approval have been released and deported to neighboring Thailand on Thursday, their organization told RFA’s Lao Service.The volunteers for the ...
RFA’s Lao Service
Three U.S. Citizens Arrested in Laos for Spreading Christian Materials
UPDATED at 7 P.M. EDT on 2019-04-12Lao authorities have arrested three U.S. citizens in Luang Namtha province’s Sing district for distributing bibles and other evangelistic materials, a Christian organization in the United States told RFA’s Lao Service on Friday.Identified by their organization only by their ...
RFA’s Lao Service
